Slow pre-season preparations have been seen as one of the reasons to blame for Chelsea’s disastrous 2015-16 season. The club are hoping for improvements and an ideal summer after unveiling friendlies against the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid, and AC Milan as part of the 2016 International Champions Cup. Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium will host the game against the Merseyside club.
Chelsea’s impressive support in the United States of America is well-documented. The blues will have another opportunity to strengthen the fan base with these games. The friendlies are scheduled from the last week of July to the first week of August. However, these are unlikely to be the only friendly matches of the summer, as the blues will announce more in the coming months.
Even though these are only friendly matches, the growing popularity of football betting on mobile is likely to see increased betting on android phones for these matches. Chairman Bruce Buck expressed his delighted that Chelsea are testing against the best from European football. He said:
“It gives us great pleasure to know we will be testing ourselves at the highest level this summer and I am sure the squad will benefit from the excellent facilities available to us across the United States.
“We have always found the support shown to the club by our American fans to be passionate and positive and cannot wait to see them once more.”
Chelsea’s best performance in the International Champions Cup was in the inaugural 2013 season when the blues finished as runners-up to Real Madrid.
It is almost certain that Guus Hiddink is unlikely to be in charge of the team during the pre-season. Antonio Conte is the overwhelming favourite to take over as the next Chelsea boss after announcing his exit from the Italian national team after the Euro 2016.
